Refusing to accept his punishment for his failure to properly protect and serve his community, disgraced former NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo is suing the department to get his job back.
NBC News reports that Pantaleo’s lawyer, Stuart London, has dismissed his client’s termination as “arbitrary and capricious” and filed a lawsuit against the NYPD on Wednesday.
In August, we reported that Pantaleo was finally fired after using an illegal chokehold on Eric Garner on July 27, 2014.
After determining that the 43-year-old fell victim to “compression of neck (chokehold), compression of chest, and prone positioning during physical restraint by police,” the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Garner’s death a homicide.
And in what has occurred far too often under similar circumstances, a Staten Island grand jury refused to indict Pantaleo while the Justice Department announced that it would not file federal civil rights or criminal charges against him.
However, after five long years of Garner’s family being denied justice, NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill finally decided to fire Pantaleo on Aug. 19 at the recommendation of the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Trials.
“It is clear that Daniel Pantaleo can no longer effectively serve as a New York City police officer,” O’Neill told reporters at the time.
In a statement, Rev. Al Sharpton echoed O’Neill’s sentiments:
“He has shown no contrition or acknowledgment of his violent actions that ultimately killed Eric Garner.”